A county town's only betting shop, which has been trading for more than 30 years, has closed… though the smart money is on it being re-opened by a well-known national chain.

Scotbet, on North Berwick High Street, shut for good late last month.

A sign in the window said: “This shop will be closing on Sunday 21st January. Any winning not collected by this date can be collected at any other Scotbet branch.

“We would like to thank everyone for their custom and support over the years.”

The business, which is the only bookmakers in the town, had traded since the 1990s, replacing The George Café.

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Scotbet, which has shops throughout the country, entered receivership in 2019 with Paul Dounis and Gareth Harris of RSM Restructuring Advisory LLP appointed joint receivers of the business. The business was sold by the receivers to Scotb123 Limited, safeguarding 127 jobs at the time.

Susan Oliver, co-chair of the North Berwick Business Association, said she was sad to see the business close but believed it was being replaced by a Ladbrokes betting shop.

She said: “Unfortunately I don’t know much about the reasons behind it closing. There is obviously a big shift towards online betting but I don’t know if that played a part.

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“I believe work is already underway inside to refurbish the building and I am hearing it will be a Ladbrokes store that comes in.

“Obviously it is sad to see the business go, but at least it will be replaced by something.”

Ladbrokes currently has shops in Haddington, Tranent, Dunbar and Musselburgh, but has no shop in North Berwick.

Kenny Miller, chair of North Berwick Community Council, added: "It is sad to see the shop close. It has been in North Berwick a long time so is a part of the community.

“Hopefully something is put in place soon. Nobody likes to see a building laying empty so if it is something like a Ladbrokes or something else, then that is fair enough.”

Renovations to the inside of the property are now taking place.

The Courier has approached Ladbrokes for comment. No-one from Scotbet was available to speak to the Courier.